Southern Maryland Hospital ripoff Unprofessional and Uncompetent Nursing Staff Clinton Maryland

I have been a nurse for 15 years, and use to live in the Waldorf area. I had to move because I felt unsafe practicing my chosen profession in that area. As a patient I was left in labor for over 22 hours while my son was breeched and hypoxic. He now has a learning disability. Never was I told my labor was failing to progress normally, or told I could have my baby delivered by another MD. My uncle, who was vent dependent, was admitted to a regular room instead of the ICU and the vent not used. He later called his wife and begged to be removed from said hospital before they " killed him ".

I also paid a visit to the ER with my own daughter and she was misdiagnosed. She was transported to Childrens for a appendicitis, yet only had a mild case of gastroenteritis. That bill cost me more than 6k what it should have been. I will not comment on the " rudeness " of the nurses. As I have worked with said nurses for 15 yrs and believe any nurse has to have a love for what she does in order to be a nurse and return to the bedside time again.

I have always discouraged my own family from going to this facility, and usually ask them to meet me in Northern Va at one of the Inova hospitals, when they need care. Until the citizens of said area demand better care, boycott said facility, the care will never improve. I had my son in 1984. It cant be only blamed at the nursing level, but reform has to start from the top.

This hospital is owned and ran by a doctor. I have read other postings on this subject and just in general to refer to them... I'll add this. Potassium does burn, and its good another nurse changed the site. No extra fluid cant be added to the pre mixed solution. Iv's do get missed especially if the second one wasnt charted. Doctors do order drug therapy without first consulting said patient. The nurse should explain what she has been ordered to do and why. Low poatassium levels are normal with a patient that is throwing up. Every patient should be their own advocate when seeking medical care from any facility, and if unable to do so, the family should step in. Anyone has the right to refuse treatment and go elsewhere.
C Harlow

OK Rhonda, go ahead and go to WHC then. If you or your mother thinks that WHC center is any better,you have a lot to learn. I'm sorry to inform you of this, but, WHC is just like SMH. As a matter of fact, I was just there Monday night. It was not good.

I hope you don't ever have an emergengy (more than a cut hand, arm, etc.) that requires treatment. If you do, then, go to WHC and come back and write the rip-off report of them so I can see oh so how much better they were. Ha

I have lived in Temple Hills, MD my whole life, granted only 22 years. And I need to say that it is a well known fact in that area that you dont want to go to southern maryland hospital. I was born in that hospital and my mother has told me on numerous occasions that the nurses were very mean to her, making unprofessional remarks.

You might be thinking, that was a long time ago. Well, I have another story. while working, I cut my hand taking trash out on a can. I was taken to Southern Maryland by my employer. the nurse acted like she didnt know what she was talkin about. I was 17 at the time, neither of my parents were there and she was going to give me medication without telling me, i saw her getting the needle ready and was about to stick it in my arm.

I said, should I call my mother or see a doctor?
She asked me if i had a tetanus shot in the last couple of years, I said yes, just recently.
I was only seventeen I didnt know what she was doing. She got an additude, said something under her breath and called my mother.

There is no excuse for a bad additude and bad service in a hospital i dont care what the situation is, if you cant give people quality and competence, then the hospital needs to be closed. My mother told me a long time ago, to insist on being taken to washington hospital center if i am ever hurt, southern just isnt worth it.

First of all, I think it is not fair for this lady to say that the whole hospital is bad because of what happened to her loved one on one particular floor of the hospital. I am sorry that it happened to her and her family, but this event happened in only one area of the hospital. SMHC is a very large hospital and it has some very great services that it offers. SMHC offers many different community services that are often free or very low cost. If there was an emergency and this lady's loved one needed quick care, I'm sure she would grace the doors of SMHC vs. letting them die. SMHC has treated thousands and thousands of people who are very happy with the care they've received.

Not making excused, but nurses are very busy. With the lack of graduating nurses, the problem is only going to get worse. We have larger and larger patient loads that continue to demand more all the time. I have actually taken care of people that will call a nurse to their room for a cup of ice or a drink of water, while they have 2 or 3 people sitting there with them. Nurses are NOT slaves to patients. If you have a family member present, then they can help care for a person too. Would it be too much to ask for a friend or family member to, God forbid, walk down the hall and get a cup of water or ice for someone?

As far as the medication thing, some people don't realize that there is actually a procedure we have to follow in order to give medicine. We can't even give someone a Tylenol without a doctor's order. What if it takes one hour to get in touch with the doctor? Then the patient has to wait. The nurse has done her job, yet she is the one catching all the flack because the DOCTOR hasn't returned the call.

I know it must be frustrating to have had this situation happen to you, but please understand, your father wasn't the only one in the hospital--there were many other patients that also needed tended to. Nursing is a very hard profession, that doesn't pay well (considering all we do) and that is often thankless. Sports athletes make many times over what we do just to keep us entertained. Nurses deal with life and death everyday and make peanuts. No wonder the number of nurses keeps going down and down. And then to have to deal with constant criticism, I wonder myself sometimes if it is really worth it.
I challenge you to try to do it for a day. It might change your mind on the way you look at nurses at ANY hospital

Finally, remember, nurses are human too and can make mistakes, especially when they work long hours and shifts. ANYONE can make a mistake. Have you EVER make a mistake at home or God forbid on YOUR job?